Second Theft Of Rare Chinese Artefacts In Two Weeks As Cambridge University Is Targeted In Raid

A hoard of rare Chinese artefacts has been stolen from Cambridge University, police have confirmed.

Eighteen items including a 14th century Ming jade cup were stolen during a raid at the institution's Fitzwilliam Museum at around 7.30pm on Friday.

Cambridgeshire Police today appealed for anyone with information to help recover the items, which the force described as "very valuable" and of "great cultural significance".

Detective Chief Superintendent Karen Daber, who is leading the investigation, called Operation Tundra, said the force had carried out forensic examinations following the burglary and were examining CCTV footage.

She said: "The items stolen are very valuable and are of great cultural significance so we are absolutely committed to recovering them and bringing those who stole them to justice.

"The 18 items stolen are mostly jade and part of the museum's permanent collection.

"We have a team of detectives working hard to achieve these ends and we are working closely with the Fitzwilliam Museum, which is doing all it can to help our inquiries.

"We are keen to hear from anyone who may have been in or around the Fitzwilliam Museum between 6pm and 8pm and may have heard or seen anything unusual or suspicious.

"While this is an exceptional crime, that we are taking very seriously, it is also worth remembering that this type of offence is extremely rare."

Mrs Daber refused to speculate on whether the robbery was linked to a similar theft which took place recently at Durham University, although she said officers were liaising with Durham police.

A gang coolly chiselled into Durham University's Oriental Museum through an outside wall on 5 April before stealing two Chinese artefacts, which are thought to have been stolen to order.

Police said the Durham raid was almost certainly a well-planned operation, as the gang targeted two separate cabinets containing an 18th century jade bowl and a Dehua porcelain figurine - which have since been retrieved.

Both items are from the Qing Dynasty, China's last imperial dynasty, and their total value is estimated to be worth more than £2 million.

On Wednesday, photographs of Lee Wildman, also known as Jason or Lee Green, 35, and Adrian Stanton, 32, both of Walsall, West Midlands, were released.

Lee Wildman was one of five people from the West Midlands who were arrested and bailed pending further inquiries.

The Fine Art and Antiques division of the Metropolitan Police will assist the Cambridgeshire force with their investigation.

Among the stolen items were six pieces from the Ming dynasty, including a jade 16th century carved buffalo, a carved horse from the 17th century and a green and brown jade carved elephant.

A jade cup and vase which is carved with bronze designs was also stolen along with an opaque jade brush washer.

Eight pieces from the Qing dynasty were taken, and a table screen from the Qianlong period and a jug and vase from the 18th century make up the rest of the stolen artworks.

Police and the museum refused to reveal the monetary value of the stolen pieces.

A spokesman for the Fitzwilliam Museum said: "These works are a highly important part of our collection and their loss is a great blow.

"We are working closely with the police to aid in their recovery.

"A thorough review of our security measures is also under way. We urge anyone with information that could help the inquiry to come forward."

Check out the news of the day in pictures below:

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Pictures Of The Day: 19 April

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Employees pose putting the finishing touches to new waxwork statues of Britain's Prince William (R) and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge (L) as they are unveiled at Madame Tussauds in Blackpool, north-west England on April 19, 2012. The Duchess is dressed in an exact copy of the stunning Jenny Packham dress she wore for the ARK charity dinner, the first time she and Prince William appeared as a married couple. (Photo credit: ANDREW YATES/AFP/Getty Images)

Ekaterina Samutsevich, a member of female Russian punk band Pussy Riot waves as she is escorted to the court in Moscow, on April 19, 2012. Three members of the all-woman punk band 'Pussy Riot' were detained two months ago, after they climbed on the altar of Moscow's Christ the Saviour Cathedral - the country's central place of worship - and sang a song they called a 'Punk Prayer'. The women have been charged with hooliganism committed by an organised group - an unusually harsh charge for protesters. (Photo credit: ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP/Getty Images)

Police officers detain a supporter of female Russian punk band Pussy Riot outside the court in Moscow, on April 19, 2012, before the hearings on the Pussy Riot case. Three members of the all-woman punk band 'Pussy Riot' were detained two months ago, after they climbed on the altar of Moscow's Christ the Saviour Cathedral -- the country's central place of worship -- and sang a song they called a 'Punk Prayer'. The women have been charged with hooliganism committed by an organised group -- an unusually harsh charge for protesters. (Photo credit: ANDREY SMIRNOV/AFP/Getty Images)

France's Julien Benneteau reacts as he lays on the ground after a fall during his match againt's British Andy Murray during the Monte-Carlo ATP Masters Series Tournament tennis match, on April 19, 2012 in Monaco. Murray won the match after Benneteau injured both his right ankle and arm. (Photo credit: VALERY HACHE/AFP/Getty Images)

Two Iraqi women walk along a street in the capital Baghdad as a sand storm envelops the city on April 19, 2012. (Photo credit: SABAH ARAR/AFP/Getty Images)

Israelis pause during a two-minute siren in memory of victims of the Holocaust in the market in Jerusalem, Thursday, April 19, 2012. The day is one of the most solemn on Israel's calendar. Restaurants and places of entertainment shut down, and radio and TV programming focuses on Holocaust documentaries and interviews with survivors. (Photo credit: AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

France's incumbent President and UMP ruling party's candidate for the 2012 presidential election, Nicolas Sarkozy speaks during a campaing meeting on April 19, 2012 in the French city of Saint-Maurice outside Paris. (Photo credit: MICHEL EULER/AFP/Getty Images)

Newly-recruited Thai women rangers take part in a training session at a military camp in Narathiwat province on April 19, 2012. More than 5,100 people have been killed - both Muslims and Buddhists - in attacks across Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat since unrest escalated in January 2004, according to Deep South Watch which monitors the violence. (Photo credit: MADAREE TOHLALA/AFP/Getty Images)

Philippine marines carry a colleague acting as fallen enemy during an ambush simulation as part of the two-week PH-US military exercise inside the Philippine marines training center in Ternate town, Cavite province, south of Manila on April 19, 2012. The Philippines hailed the start of major war games with the United States on April 16, as a timely boost to the two nations' military alliance amid growing regional security challenges. (Photo credit: TED ALJIBE/AFP/Getty Images)

One Direction fans wait at Auckland International Airport for the arrival of the band on April 19, 2012 in Auckland, New Zealand. One Direction peforms to sold-out audiences in Auckland on Saturday and Wellington on Sunday. (Photo credit: Phil Walter/Getty Images)

Indonesian militant Umar Patek arrive in handcuffs and escorted by armed police commandos at the Jakarta court on April 19, 2012 in the resumption of his trial. Patek is the suspected bomb maker of the deadly 2002 Bali bombing. (Photo credit: ROMEO GACAD/AFP/Getty Images)

An Iraqi soldier walks past the debris at the scene of two car bombs close to the governate in the northern oil-rich city of Kirkuk on April 19, 2012, which left several people dead. A wave of bomb attacks in four different provinces across Iraq killed at least 30 people security officials said. (Photo credit: MARWAN IBRAHIM/AFP/Getty Images)

Defence lawyer Vibeke Hein Baera (R) speaks to prosecutor Inga Bejer Engh (L) before Right-wing extremist Anders Behring Breivik arrives in room 250 of the central court in Oslo in Oslo on April 19, 2012. The trial against Anders Behring Breivik charged with committing 'acts of terror' when he slaughtered 77 people in twin attacks in July 2011 that shook the tranquil Scandinavian country to its core got under way Monday, 16 April. (Photo credit: DANIEL SANNUM LAUTEN/AFP/Getty Images)

A Myanmar woman hold a baby street in Yangon on April 19, 2012. The United States invited Myanmar's foreign minister and said on April 18 that democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, who is traveling abroad for the first time in decades, had an 'open invitation.' AFP PHOTO / Soe Than WIN (Photo credit: Soe Than WIN/AFP/Getty Images)

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Pictures Of The Day: 19 April

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Employees pose putting the finishing touches to new waxwork statues of Britain's Prince William (R) and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge (L) as they are unveiled at Madame Tussauds in Blackpool, north-west England on April 19, 2012. The Duchess is dressed in an exact copy of the stunning Jenny Packham dress she wore for the ARK charity dinner, the first time she and Prince William appeared as a married couple. (Photo credit: ANDREW YATES/AFP/Getty Images)

Ekaterina Samutsevich, a member of female Russian punk band Pussy Riot waves as she is escorted to the court in Moscow, on April 19, 2012. Three members of the all-woman punk band 'Pussy Riot' were detained two months ago, after they climbed on the altar of Moscow's Christ the Saviour Cathedral - the country's central place of worship - and sang a song they called a 'Punk Prayer'. The women have been charged with hooliganism committed by an organised group - an unusually harsh charge for protesters. (Photo credit: ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP/Getty Images)

Police officers detain a supporter of female Russian punk band Pussy Riot outside the court in Moscow, on April 19, 2012, before the hearings on the Pussy Riot case. Three members of the all-woman punk band 'Pussy Riot' were detained two months ago, after they climbed on the altar of Moscow's Christ the Saviour Cathedral -- the country's central place of worship -- and sang a song they called a 'Punk Prayer'. The women have been charged with hooliganism committed by an organised group -- an unusually harsh charge for protesters. (Photo credit: ANDREY SMIRNOV/AFP/Getty Images)

France's Julien Benneteau reacts as he lays on the ground after a fall during his match againt's British Andy Murray during the Monte-Carlo ATP Masters Series Tournament tennis match, on April 19, 2012 in Monaco. Murray won the match after Benneteau injured both his right ankle and arm. (Photo credit: VALERY HACHE/AFP/Getty Images)

Two Iraqi women walk along a street in the capital Baghdad as a sand storm envelops the city on April 19, 2012. (Photo credit: SABAH ARAR/AFP/Getty Images)

Israelis pause during a two-minute siren in memory of victims of the Holocaust in the market in Jerusalem, Thursday, April 19, 2012. The day is one of the most solemn on Israel's calendar. Restaurants and places of entertainment shut down, and radio and TV programming focuses on Holocaust documentaries and interviews with survivors. (Photo credit: AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

France's incumbent President and UMP ruling party's candidate for the 2012 presidential election, Nicolas Sarkozy speaks during a campaing meeting on April 19, 2012 in the French city of Saint-Maurice outside Paris. (Photo credit: MICHEL EULER/AFP/Getty Images)

Newly-recruited Thai women rangers take part in a training session at a military camp in Narathiwat province on April 19, 2012. More than 5,100 people have been killed - both Muslims and Buddhists - in attacks across Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat since unrest escalated in January 2004, according to Deep South Watch which monitors the violence. (Photo credit: MADAREE TOHLALA/AFP/Getty Images)

Philippine marines carry a colleague acting as fallen enemy during an ambush simulation as part of the two-week PH-US military exercise inside the Philippine marines training center in Ternate town, Cavite province, south of Manila on April 19, 2012. The Philippines hailed the start of major war games with the United States on April 16, as a timely boost to the two nations' military alliance amid growing regional security challenges. (Photo credit: TED ALJIBE/AFP/Getty Images)

One Direction fans wait at Auckland International Airport for the arrival of the band on April 19, 2012 in Auckland, New Zealand. One Direction peforms to sold-out audiences in Auckland on Saturday and Wellington on Sunday. (Photo credit: Phil Walter/Getty Images)

Indonesian militant Umar Patek arrive in handcuffs and escorted by armed police commandos at the Jakarta court on April 19, 2012 in the resumption of his trial. Patek is the suspected bomb maker of the deadly 2002 Bali bombing. (Photo credit: ROMEO GACAD/AFP/Getty Images)

An Iraqi soldier walks past the debris at the scene of two car bombs close to the governate in the northern oil-rich city of Kirkuk on April 19, 2012, which left several people dead. A wave of bomb attacks in four different provinces across Iraq killed at least 30 people security officials said. (Photo credit: MARWAN IBRAHIM/AFP/Getty Images)

Defence lawyer Vibeke Hein Baera (R) speaks to prosecutor Inga Bejer Engh (L) before Right-wing extremist Anders Behring Breivik arrives in room 250 of the central court in Oslo in Oslo on April 19, 2012. The trial against Anders Behring Breivik charged with committing 'acts of terror' when he slaughtered 77 people in twin attacks in July 2011 that shook the tranquil Scandinavian country to its core got under way Monday, 16 April. (Photo credit: DANIEL SANNUM LAUTEN/AFP/Getty Images)

A Myanmar woman hold a baby street in Yangon on April 19, 2012. The United States invited Myanmar's foreign minister and said on April 18 that democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, who is traveling abroad for the first time in decades, had an 'open invitation.' AFP PHOTO / Soe Than WIN (Photo credit: Soe Than WIN/AFP/Getty Images)